The legend of Shonomaru village
by Rachel Revdon
Summary: Inu no Taisho loses his young companion, Ikuymi/Miyuki due to an attack from an old foe. He's determined to get her back, but she has lost her memory and is captured by a group of demons. Will Inu no Taisho be in time before it's too late?
1. Separeted

**This is a story which explains some things about the so called 'Legend of Shonomaru village'.  
A legend which is of great importance in my other fanfic: **_**Miyuki, stories of a strange journey**_**, but can also be read without the knowledge of that story.  
please enjoy en review! **

_**1. SEPARATED.**_

**Inu no Taisho stops walking and looks over his shoulder to look where his young ward is. **"Ikuymi! Hurry up!" he commands when he sees that she's still busy packing her stuff back into her 'hollow bag'. She knew that they didn't have all day. They woke up when the first sunbeams arrived, had a quick breakfast and then started packing their stuff to continue their journey.

"I'm coming, milord!" Ikuymi shouts back and she quickly throws her bag over her shoulder and runs after Inu no Taisho, who had already gone up ahead.

"Where are we headed, milord?" she asks when she catches up to her guardian. They had been travelling together for many many years but Ikuymi never stopped to call him 'lord', it was a little trait of his companion and Inu no Taisho had get adjusted too it completely.

"We're going to Koriyama village, Ikuymi. But I already told you that, didn't I?" Inu no Taisho says, slightly surprised that Ikuymi doesn't know where they were headed.

"You did? Hmmm…sorry can't remember," says Miyuki while grinning innocently. She had completely forgotten about it for some reason. Inu no Taisho shakes his head in disbelieve and sighs. "You're a complete disaster sometimes, Ikuymi. But unfortunately, that's exactly the reason why I keep you around," he says.

"_You don't have the strength to get rid of me._" Ikuymi's voice sounds dangerous and cold, when she says this. Her eyes have both turned pitch black, which means that her spirit has now connection with her full being in the afterlife. Inu no Taisho doesn't know much about Ikuymi's full being, only that he should fear it, but he does know how to stop the connection between the two.

"Relax, you little brat, you're far too precious to get rid of," says Inu no Taisho while he pats Ikuymi on the head, which makes Ikuymi's black eyes go back to their normal blue colour.

"Don't treat me like a child." Ikuymi's voice sounds childish angry and she's pouting like a little kid who just had been wronged, and Inu no Taisho can only laugh at his young ward and companion. She's 17 years old, but quite a skilled swordsman. At least, he presumes that the age of the body which Ikuymi inhabits now is around the age of 17. Ikuymi is a seishin no Onnanoko (=girl of the spirits), a spirit from the afterlife with the ability to take over a dead person's body and to use it to walk among the living again. So she could be any age by now. She could even be older than Inu no Taisho himself.

"**Milord,** what's there to see, in Koriyama village I mean," Ikuymi suddenly asks after they've walked for a couple of hours. Inu no Taisho isn't surprised by this question since Miyuki had also forgotten where they are headed. He waits a few moments before he answers, knowing that she won't like the answer he's about to give her.

"Well, she's there," Inu no Taisho answers with a stoic voice. Ikuymi seems to flinch for a mere second. "Oh no. You don't mean…"

"Yes, I mean Kyrinnia (this is the name I gave to Sesshomaru's mother, because I couldn't find her real name), my future bride," Inu no Taisho answers, still on the same tone. They both don't really like her.

"She's scary. Milord, why have you agreed on marrying her? You don't love her, I know you don't."

*Sigh* "Today's world is not always about love, Ikuymi. Two dog demon tribes are in a fight, and the only way to restore the peace is by a marriage between the children of the chiefs. Me and Kyrinnia. And besides, I owe her for saving your life, remember. You yourself once said that she would make a good wife for me," Inu no Taisho argues in his place. He doesn't know why he defends Kyrinnia like this, but his subconscious is telling him to.

"Humpf, That was before I knew what she is really like. Whether she has saved me or not, I still don't like her," Ikuymi says.

"Can you please quit complaining…" Inu no Taisho says, slightly irritated, thought it's no order. Ikuymi may be his servant, but she's also a friend and travel companion. Besides, he knows how stubborn she is, if it would be a command, she would ignore it, just because it is a command. He learned that a long time ago.

"Fine…Hey, where's Ai?" asks Ikuymi surprised.

"I don't know, she should be right behind us," Inu no Taisho answers, while looking around in search for Ai.

"Ai! Ai! Ai where are you! AI!" Ikuymi calls almost on top of her lungs, what shouldn't be necessary if Ai would be close to them. Inu no Taisho sniffs the air to get an idea where Ai might be. Ai is the shape-shifting demon and Ikuymi's first friend. Ai was there even before he appeared on the scene. But Inu no Taisho doesn't smell Ai at all, however, what he DOES smell doesn't make him happy.

"Ikuymi, prepare. Something is coming," he warns his ward. Ikuymi turns surprised around.

"What? Ya serious? Damn!" she curses. A blizzard encloses her and Ikuymi's clothes change into full travel armour. The Onitsume, her own demon sword, hangs proudly on her left hip.

"They'd better be good. We haven't had a good fight in ages," she says grinning.

"I couldn't agree more with you, Ikuymi. Let's bring it on!" Inu no Taisho yells.

"Hahahaha! Inu no Taisho! You fool, bringing you're seishin no Onnanoko with you to protect you. I will rip you both to shreds," a furious voice yells back.

"Oh great," Inu no Taisho says depressed when he hears their opponents voice.

"Who is that, milord?" asks Ikuymi surprised.

"Hakaimaru of the South. An old friend of mine…"

"He doesn't sound that friendly," Ikuymi notifies.

"Ehèhè…long story, I'll tell it you some other day."

"I'll keep you to that one."

"Inu no Taisho!" the approaching demon growls.

"What's wrong, Hakaimaru? Afraid to show yourself?" Inu no Taisho screams, challenging their opponent.

"Do you really need to challenge him like this, milord?" asks Ikuymi accusing.

"Sorry, old habit." Inu no Taisho pulls the Tessaiga.

"The windscar first? Milord, you disappoint me," Ikuymi says with a disapproving voice.

"What do you suppose we'd do then?" Inu no Taisho asks.

"Let me try something… Hakaimaru!" Ikuymi takes a step forward.

"Hakaimaru of the South! My name is Ikuymi of the Sun, servant of lord Inu no Taisho of the West. Come out and face us, or you'll regret it!" she screams.

"And I was challenging him too much?" Inu no Taisho says dry.

"Hahahaha! You're that weakling's seishin no Onnanoko, aren't you? Do you even know who you're up against?" their opponent asks arrogantly.

"Should I care?" Ikuymi asks with a smirk on her face but with an uninterested voice.

"Ouch, good one, Ikuymi. Right in his face," Inu no Taisho praises. Ikuymi's grin widens.

"Milord, what are his usual tactics?" she asks then with a serious face and voice.

"Uhmm…let me think… well, he's always one step ahead of his opponent. He can exactly predict what they're going to do…"

"So he's a mind reader…Interesting," Ikuymi deducts. A little, evil smile forms on her face.

"I haven't fought a mind reader in hundreds of years. This is gonna be fun." Ikuymi pulls the Onitsume and points it in the air.

"I call upon the Dragons of fire! Come forth my servants!" A lightning flash of fire hits Ikuymi's sword. The sword is on fire, what gives it enormous power.

"Hakaimaru! Get your ass here, you coward, or feel the wrath of my sword," Ikuymi challenges.

… … No response… …

"Shall we, milord?"

"Anytime, Ikuymi. WINDSCAR!" Inu no Taisho swings his sword down, making a windscar while Ikuymi does the same and screams: "DRAGON BLAZE!" A dangerous combination of the Tessaiga's windscar and the Onitsume's dragon blaze, rages over the fields en through the forest.

"WRRRAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

"We've got him!" Ikuymi cheers while she looks at the rampage they've caused.

"Nice shot, Ikuymi," praises Inu no Taisho and he raises his hand to make high five. Ikuymi answers the high five. It's a habit they've developed over the past few years.

"WRRAAAAAGGGGHHHHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Huh? He's… …laughing? What the hell!" Ikuymi screams slightly in panic and fully surprised. Hakaimaru, a giant demon angel, (a demon that looks like an angel, but they're definitely not!), walks unharmed through the sea of fire caused by the combined windscar and the dragon.

"»Return! «" Ikuymi's dragon returns to the Onitsume.

"Damn, how can he still be alive? That technique should have ripped him into little shreds. »Dragons of the elements, hear my words and obey me! Come forth! «." Ikuymi's five hairyū (= type of Japanese dragons) of fire, wind, water, earth and lightning appear out of nowhere and they take their places, floating in the air, behind Ikuymi.

"So what now, Ikuymi. Any strategies ready?" Inu no Taisho asks, readying the Tessaiga.

"Just one… he's a mind reader, so…" Ikuymi raises the Onitsume into the air and runs screaming to Hakaimaru, so she can attack him. Her five dragons follow her to help her attack. "What the…? Ikuymi! Are you out of your mind? What the hell are you doing?" Inu no Taisho screams, completely overwhelmed by his wards sudden attack at their opponent.

"This is the only way, milord. He'll know what we're up to if we're going to make a strategy. So we have to attack him, without thinking of a plan," Ikuymi explains while attacking Hakaimaru randomly with attacks that combined speed and harsh plain attacks with her sword. Her dragons seem to have a mind of their own and they also combine speed wit harsh plain attacks at Hakaimaru.

"That's our strategy?" Inu no Taisho asks.

"You bet it is!" shouts Ikuymi back. She just missed Hakaimaru's wings.

"Well, we lack for a better strategy, so this'll do then," Inu no Taisho says while putting Tessaiga away. He's actually quite glad. Ikuymi normally comes up with difficult strategies to kill their opponent. It has been a while since he could just randomly attack someone. He now pulls the So'unga, whereafter he runs to Ikuymi to help her with the attack.

"Insolent fools. Heavenly rage!" Hakaimaru screams while he slams Ikuymi and her dragons away. He also performs an attack of his own. The Heavenly rage.

"Huh?" Ikuymi asks surprised, not knowing what will come now. However Inu no Taisho knows. "Shit! Ikuymi look out!" A gigantic ball of blinding and destructive white light roars over the field, destroying everything in its path.

"Darn it. »Block«!" The dragons begin spinning fast around Ikuymi and form a protective shield around her.

"Milord get out of here, now!" she orders Inu no Taisho.

"Fine." Inu no Taisho leaves the field, out of the range of the giant ball. He knows from experience that Ikuymi will be alright. If she says so, it is so.

-On that moment, behind the barrier of protective dragons.-

'I…can't…hold…it out…much lon…ger' Three of her five dragons have been crushed and the other two can't hold on much longer. The giant ball of light still smashes into her protective barrier.

'I have to send it back. I have to! But how? … … … … Of course! The ribēto powder. Where do I have that stuff?' Ikuymi starts searching in her hollow bag, the bag where everything is said to fit in. One of the two dragons breaks, one is left to protect Ikuymi.

'There it is!'

The last dragon, the dragon of Fire, Ikuymi's strongest dragon, cracks but doesn't break…yet. Ikuymi throws the little bag with ribēto in it to the ball of light.

…More cracks appear in the dragon…

The powder and the bag disappear in the ball of light. 'Come on…Come ON! You can do it. COME ON!' Something explodes within the ball.

'Yes. It worked! YES!' But Ikuymi's last dragon breaks before the ball of light is completely destroyed.

"Ah shit!"

-Silence-

An explosion beyond anything the world has ever faced before and beyond your imagination, strikes at the middle of the field.

"IKUYIMI!"

… …No response… …

"Damn! Ikuymi where are you?" Inu no Taisho runs back to the field to find his travel companion. "Wrahahaha! What's wrong Inu no Taisho? Are you that helpless without your precious seishin no Onnanoko?"

"Shut up!" Inu no Taisho yells.

"If I knew that this is what it takes to make you fight, I would have killed the girl a long time ago," Hakaimaru claims. Inu no Taisho can't stand is and inner youkai is taking over. His eyes turn red and the pink scars on his cheeks grow. He's changing into his full demonic being. "Ikuymi!" his scream changes in a terrifying howl. He jumps to the surprised Hakaimaru and devours him in one bite. His anger made him at least 20 times stronger, so Hakaimaru didn't stand a chance. Inu no Taisho howls again and changes then back to his human form. He slowly walks to the place where Ikuymi should have been. Only her sword and hollow bag remain, the girl is gone. "No…No! NOOOOOOOOO! IKUYMI!" He just lost his precious protégée.


	2. Lost and found

**_2. Lost and found._**

**Where was she?** She woke up in this strange place; she believes people call it a forest, whatever that may be. But more importantly, WHO is she? She couldn't remember. The girl sits up. She feels something cold and gentle stroking her cheek. 'Wind' she recalls. But the wind recalls something more. Images of someone, a man, with long white hair. A friend of hers? Her father, companion, foe…lover? She doesn't know. But she knows that he should be there to protect her, but… where was he, who was he? "What is going on, who am I?" asks the girl to no one in particular. The trees and bushes rustle in the wind. The girl feels the chill of the early spring. The girl stands up. "I'd better get moving and find myself a place to hide," she says and she walks away from the open spot in the forest.

* * *

"**A lake?" **the girl says surprised when she finds a small lake. She looks in the clear water and sees a reflection of herself. Her hair is long and blond, with a single braid of white hair. Her skin is a little tanned and her eyes are blue. "I must be traveling a lot, judging the collar of my skin." The girl looks at the rest of her clothes. A light purple osode, tied together with a black obi, a green mobakama and flat black shoes. Nothing too outrages about that, right? The girl doesn't know, everything in her head is so blurry. She likes the place she is now. The lake is clear and in the back is a waterfall. Waterfalls are good, you can use them to clean yourself or to hide behind it, someone once told her. She couldn't remember who. She decided to build her hideout here.

* * *

**Inu no Taisho sniffs the air and the ground in search for clues of Ikuymi.**

"Damn, damn, damn! Where is she?" he has been cursing for a while now but he hasn't found any clue yet. However… two new smells are suddenly mixed with the other smell that floats through the air. One is sweet, like a peace, but carries a sparkle of fire. The other one has the sickening smell of lilies, blood red lilies. Inu no Taisho suddenly recognizes both smells. The first is Ikuymi's, but still, not her real smell.

'Her blood has changed!' Inu no Taisho is shocked. He doesn't know Ikuymi's other smell all that well because she doesn't carry that scent too often, so finding her will be impossible if her smell has changed completely. But the other smell is what makes him even more worried. It's the smell of the Shojo wo taberu Akuma, the maiden eating demons. He imagines Ikuymi in the state she's in: frightened, weak and alone, against the Shojo wo taberu Akuma. She would make the perfect prey for them. And one that meets all the requirements: young, beautiful and a virgin. He shivers when he thinks of that last requirement. Yes, Ikuymi was still a virgin (the body she possesses now at least is); however… it was a close call. On that strange night… stupid aikō ka sake (lovers' sake, an aphrodisiac type of sake)…

Damn it! He has to find her, before the Shojo wo taberu Akuma do, or he'll never see her again.

* * *

**"Do you smell that, Hanzo?"** the man asks. The demon child, Hanzo, sniffs the air. "Yes, lord Kamenosuke. What about this particular smell?" he asks. The demon man on the horse grins. "Don't you know this smell, Hanzo? It's the smell of a maiden, a young maiden, who is neither human nor demon," he answers.

"A half-demon, milord?" Hanzo asks.

"I don't care, I want to see her, what about you, men?" says the demon lord prurient. His escort cheers approvingly and their horses neigh loudly. The demon lord wants to set off but a younger demon rides his horse before that of the demon lord, to stop him. The man's horse rears. "What do you think you're doing?!" scolds the demon lord.

"Please, father. Let me take this one on," the young demon says.

"Step aside!" his father commands him roughly.

"Come on father. This one smells interesting, I want to take her on," the boy says with a false grin on his face. The demon lord grins with the same falsehood as his son. "Very well then. Go and get her… and don't disappoint me."

"I won't, father," the boy says and he turns his horse and rides away.

"Milord, can we trust him? You do remember what happened last time, didn't you?" says one of the escorts men.

"He'll do what he has to. He knows what'll happen if he doesn't obey me." The men laugh.

* * *

**"Whoa, wow, whaaaa!"**

*splash!* the girl falls into the clear water of the small lake when she trips over one of the wet stones on the shore of the lake. She pops up from under water, while she is laughing and sneezing. "Ah damn, no. My hair is all wet! It'll take hours to dry!" the girl says. She has been living by the lake for a few days now and has made it a habit to talk to herself, just to drive away the silence. She climbs out of the lake when she suddenly feels something struggle in her kimono. She screams while she quickly removes it from her kimono. It's a fish. "I… guess I found dinner." She looks at the fish and starts laughing again as suddenly… a smooth breeze announces the stranger, who is hiding in the shadows of the forest. "Who's there?! Come on out!" the girl commands. A young man steps out of the shadows of the forest, leading a horse by the reins. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," the boy says.

"Who are you?" the girl says scared, while backing away from the young man.

"I could ask you the same. What's your name?" the young man asks.

"I…my name am…I… I don't know…" the girl stammers, her back is now against a tree and she can't go anywhere anymore.

"You don't know?" the boy asks surprised while he walks to the girl, "Pour thing…" he lays his hand on her cheek. The girl flinches, for as far as that's still possible. "You're not human! What are you?" the girl asks. She seems to be terrified of the strange young man.

"Yes, I am a demon. But I promise you, I won't hurt you," the young man says, defending himself.

"How would I know that? How do I know if you are a friend or foe," the girl asks.

The young man sighs. "Not all demons are evil, you know."

Flashes of the man with the long silver hair flash through the girl's brain.

'Is he demon too?' she thinks.

"Do you live here on your own?" the young man asks. The girl is surprised by his question but nods then confirmative.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I can help you," the young man says.

"Really?"

"Yes. My father and I noticed you from miles away. He told me to check you out and to pick you up. We both thought that it would be too dangerous for a lonely girl to live like this."

A voice in the girls head tells her to run, tells her that the boy is lying, but in her heart, she trusts him.

"I… I trust you…" she says. The young man lays his hand on her cheek again. This time she doesn't flinch, nor does she clap the hand away.

"Good. So, will you come with me?" he asks.

The girl nods. "Okay then. Now, only a name… … Miyuki…" He speaks the last word with a self-satisfied tone.

"Miyuki?"

"Yes, Miyuki; silence of deep snow. I think it suits you." The young man lays his other arm around her waist and lifts her up in his arms. The girl doesn't resist, she just clamps herself to the young man's clothes, afraid to fall out of his arms. "What's your name, milord?" she asks.

"Samuru," the young man says.

"Samuru. I like it, lord Samuru."

"That's good," Samuru says while he jumps on his horse with the girl in his arms. The horse neighs under the heavy weight of two persons, but Samuru gets it steady and relaxed again and he drives away with the silent girl clamped onto him.


End file.
